Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed two bills Monday, one of which is geared toward tackling Connecticut’s housing affordability crisis. The other bill would have provided unemployment benefits to workers who are on strike for two weeks or more.
In his official letter returning House Bill 5002 without his signature, Lamont said the state’s housing challenge has “undeniable urgency,” but the two-term Democrat added the wide-ranging bill needed revision, and compromise, before statewide housing goals are made law.
“I want mayors and first Selectmen to be on board. I want them to be invested in this solution,” Lamont said Monday morning. “I can't if they don't believe in the process, we're not going to make any progress. I can dictate and make as many laws as I want. I think there's a lot of willingness from them to get them at the table and included.”
Before Lamont’s announcement, there were several weeks of uncertainty about the fate of the housing bill, which had faced pushback for policies critics believed would take away local control. Among those provisions was one calling on municipalities to develop a “fair share” of affordable housing.
Now, Lamont said he will call a special session “devoted solely to housing” in the fall.
“I think this is a pretty good start,” Lamont said.
Reactions roll in
Lamont had initially supported the housing bill. Then, after having more time to look at it, he said he saw some “red flags.”
State Sen. Martha Marx (D-New London), co-chair of the Housing committee, said the bill was “the result of months of tireless work seeking a better way forward to address pressing housing issues, fostering the creation of vital new units to reduce pressure on the market and support our businesses and economy.”
Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate also voiced their disappointment with the governor’s decision.
The legislation was crafted around “incentives, local options, access to resources, while acknowledging the importance of city and town leaders’ voices in making final decisions,” Speaker of the House Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford) said in a joint statement.
Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) in a statement called it “the most comprehensive effort” to build more housing in Connecticut and said they would continue that push to “break through as we must for the future of our state.”
On the other side of the aisle, State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) voiced support for the veto.
“Let’s now go back to the drawing board, work together across the aisle, and find real bipartisan solutions that address housing affordability — without gutting local control,” Harding said. “Our towns and cities deserve a seat at the table — not a mandate from Hartford.”
Outside the capitol, blowback was fierce from groups that supported the legislation.
“We are profoundly disheartened by the governor’s decision to once again leave families struggling to afford housing in Connecticut with fewer options," Erin Boggs, executive director of Open Communities Alliance, said in a statement.
Boggs noted that the governor’s office was "directly involved in negotiating this bill."
"His specific complaints about target numbers for each community to plan around appear based more on complaints from municipalities and NIMBY advocates who do not understand what the bill says rather than legitimate issues with the proposal, and should not have been enough to trigger a veto,” Boggs said.
Striking workers’ bill also vetoed
House Bill 5002 was not the only one sent back without the governor’s signature on Monday.
However, lawmakers expected the veto on Senate Bill 8, which sought to provide unemployment benefits to striking workers after two weeks. A similar bill was also vetoed by the governor last session.
Lamont said Monday he wanted to continue to protect working families, but that paying striking workers is a “bridge too far”
“I think I'm pro jobs, and I want to watch out for any bill which I think discourages jobs in this state,” Lamont said. “We're actually growing jobs in this state and growing our manufacturing base in particular, which are very good paying jobs, and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that.”
Local labor union representatives spoke out against Lamont’s decision, saying the legislation is intended to help support people on strike while they bargain for better working conditions.
“Too often, company’s slow walk negotiations and try to intimidate workers into accepting agreements through fear and economic uncertainty,” said Wayne McCarthy, president of IAM Local 700, which represents Pratt and Whitney union members who were recently on strike for several weeks. “The last thing that our members want to do is to engage the company in a strike action.”
“SB 8 restores a measure of balance,” said Rob Baril, President SEIU 1199NE, which narrowly avoided a nursing home and group home strike last month. “It ensures that healthcare workers—who take real risks to stand up for quality care—have the same basic protections as the employers across the table.”
Learn more
As of Monday Lamont has signed over 90 bills into law. The governor has line-item vetoed two bills and vetoed two bills from the 2025 regular legislative session. A full listing of the bills is available on the governor’s website.
